BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick has offered to house up to 1,000 children from Central America in a temporary shelter at either the Joint Base Cape Cod in Bourne or Westover Air Base in Chicopee as they await immigration processing, he said Friday.

Patrick’s announcement came during a press conference in which he emotionally invoked patriotism and faith as reasons he decided to respond to the "humanitarian crisis" presented by minors flooding across the country's southwestern border from countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Aides to the governor handed out a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Q&A in which the agency cited “poor economic conditions, violence in their home countries, in addition to the desire to be reunited with their families in the United States” as reasons for large numbers of children migrating to the United States. The agency said a rise in gangs and domestic violence in “sending countries” spur many children to take the risks associated with “extreme danger and criminal abuse along the long migration journey.”

Patrick said that the Obama administration would now vet each site and choose one, if either, to use. He did not have a timeline for that decision. Camp Edwards, in Bourne, was used to provide shelter for hundreds displaced from the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.

“They are alone. No parents have traveled with them. They have journeyed thousands of miles from some of the most dangerous places on earth, sent by their parents to safety away from a humanitarian crisis at home. Because the facilities to shelter these children are overwhelmed, their arrival at our border presents a humanitarian crisis here,” Patrick said.

The federal government asked Massachusetts whether it could provide shelter for up to 1,000 children, for an expected period of up to four months after more than 50,000 children, ranging from 3 to 17 years old have flooded across the U.S.-Mexico border since the fall, overcrowding shelters.

“How many we get or if we get any remains to be seen,” Patrick said.

Page 2 of 4 - If Massachusetts is selected, the federal government would maintain full control of the facility while it is being used as a shelter and the children are processed for deportation, reunion with family living in the United States, or, in some cases, asylum, according to the governor.

Patrick, who was on the verge of tears at one point as he quoted from religious scripture, said the average stay of a child would likely be 35 days, and while in the shelter they would be provided with food, a bed, medical screening and education paid for by the federal government.

“I believe that we will one day have to answer for our action and our inactions. My faith teaches that if a stranger dwells with you in your land you shall not mistreat him but rather love him as yourself,” Patrick said, his eyes welling and voice cracking.

Some state officials, including a number of Republican lawmakers, have expressed their concerns over Massachusetts volunteering to shelter these unaccompanied minors crossing the border illegally.

House Minority Leader Brad Jones on Friday told the News Service he was concerned that Patrick did not yet know enough details before he committed Massachusetts to accepting these minors, and raised concerns about health as well as local input and the potential for a four-month program to become extended indefinitely.

“I don’t think it was the right decision for the Commonwealth, not one I would have made if it were mine to make. I wish he would have followed the example of the governors in Connecticut or Maryland,” Jones said. “I would think there are still a whole host of unanswered questions and I think that it would have been more reasonable or responsible to engage the local communities earlier in the process.”

Jones said House members and constituents have conveyed to him their concerns that “this is just another symptom or sign of our fundamentally broken immigration policy” that won’t be fixed by sheltering these children.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, both Democrats, have turned down the Obama administration’s overture for help in housing migrant children in their states. Asked whether it was easier for him to make the decision he did because he is not seeking re-election, Patrick said, "This isn't a political decision,” prompting an enthusiastic round of applause from the immigrant activists who crowded the room.

Treasurer Steven Grossman, who is running for governor, said he cancelled events in Worcester to attend the governor’s announcement, and supported his decision “100 percent.” Crediting Patrick’s “moral leadership,” Grossman said anyone who wants to follow the governor into office “would do well to watch and listen and hear the words that came out of his mouth.”

Page 3 of 4 - Attorney General Martha Coakley and Donald Berwick, the other two Democrats running for governor, also issued statements of support, and Republican frontrunner Charles Baker said all states should pitch in as long as it’s a temporary solution.

"All states should work with the federal government to provide emergency assistance to these unaccompanied minors. However, it is incumbent on the federal government, which created this crisis, to be forthcoming with every state about how this program will work, how it will be funded, how these children will be cared for, and what the

ultimate outcome will be for every child,” Baker said. “The federal government must commit to sharing a regular report that updates local and state officials on the status of the children in all cooperating states. While this situation clearly demands action, Massachusetts cannot afford to become the steward or the financier of services for these

children as the Commonwealth is currently caring for thousands of homeless families in motels, and our broken DCF system is barely able to serve our most vulnerable kids."

Patrick was joined at the press conference by faith leaders, including Boston Archbishop Cardinal Sean O'Malley; Yusufi Vali, the executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center; Rev. John Borders of Morning Star Baptist Church in Boston; and Rabbi William Hamilton.

“There are practical, policy and political arguments not to shelter these children and I have heard many of them,” Patrick said. “We have consulted with the federal government to assure they will meet all the children’s needs and bear all the costs. We have consulted with refugee agencies to understand what the children’s needs actually will be.”

Patrick said the U.S. has previously sheltered Russian and Ukrainian children from religious persecution and Haitian children from earthquakes.

“We believe that you’re doing the right thing,” Rev. Borders said.

“They are escaping a terrible situation back home and looking for opportunity,” Vali said of the children.

While Patrick said it remains unclear whether the federal government will need or accept volunteers at a shelter, his administration plans to collect the names of individuals who call the governor’s office with interest in helping and forwarding those lists to relief agencies, Patrick said.

“It bears remembering that these are children alone in a foreign land. They will need age appropriate toys and books. They will also need the company of responsible adults, especially those who speak Spanish,” Patrick said,

Jones, of North Reading, is convening a State House summit on immigration issues on Thursday, July 24 to discuss not just the issue of unaccompanied minors, but the relocation of immigrant detainees to state jails for holding. Expected attendees include Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson and Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy.

Page 4 of 4 - Patrick accused some of the sheriffs of crying “hot crocodile tears,” noting that the federal government reimburses counties per detainee based on contracts negotiated by the sheriffs themselves.